After requesting the school in advance not to give the vaccine to her daughter, Grace's mother was shocked to discover she had been given it anyway.

[21 Aug 2015]
Grace was diagnosed with a mild learning disability at 6 years of age but made steady academic progress over the years in a mainstream school. She was a happy, sociable, fun loving child. She took part in mainstream activities – was a member of the local swimming club, Brownies, played football, loved to sing in the choir, etc. For her secondary education we felt a special needs school would best suit her needs and when she began there in September 2010, she seemed so content and happy. We believed a bright future lay ahead of her despite her disability.  

On 21 December 2010 Grace came home from school with the HPV vaccine consent form, I read the leaflet, filled in the form and returned it to the school. The following day I began to research the internet. When I read about the vaccines’ proposed benefits and weighed them against all the adverse reactions I immediately decided against it. I rang the school to withdraw the form. I was assured that Grace would not have it. A few weeks later she came home from school and to my shock she’d had the vaccination. It transpired the Principal was out of the school on the day. I immediately rang the vaccination doctor who reassured me that it was a safe vaccine! With no immediate effects, I began to relax.

Over the Christmas holidays, Grace began to complain of headaches. She was irritable and in bad form, saying she didn’t feel well. This went on for the next few months. We put all down to the teenage years and unfortunately let her have the 2nd vaccine in March. In April things quickly went from bad to worse. Grace continued to complain about headaches and also dizziness. She began to make involuntary jerking movements with her arms, which we couldn’t understand. She struggled with homework saying she was “not able to think” and often appeared depressed and disoriented. Because of her disability she didn’t appear able to explain all her symptoms but constantly said she didn’t feel well.

We took her the GP in April and mentioned the vaccine. Over the summer months, random bouts of vomiting followed. She became pale, lost weight and became anxious and withdrawn which was so out of character. Family and friends were shocked at the change in her personality. At this point, we began to feel the vaccine must have started all this so we raised our concerns with a consultant paediatrician. Various blood tests were arranged, all came back clear. A neurologist arranged MRI and EEG tests; again all were clear so our daughter’s problems were deemed to be psychiatric. Over the years various medications have been tried but symptoms worsened including cognitive decline and memory loss. New assessments/reports now place her on the severe end of the autistic spectrum but no one could understand or explain why the change took place. Grace was recently referred for genetic testing. The Consultant Geneticist said it was possible that the vaccine may have triggered an underlying autoimmune condition. It will be months before we have any results.

Throughout this whole nightmare we constantly find ourselves asking the question; why this vaccine that was “rushed to market!” is being targeted at young teenage girls at a very vulnerable stage in their development? Why is it being given in schools where children are herded up and vaccinated like cattle in their first year in secondary school? If it were distributed by GPs, I believe parents could give proper informed consent. Parents cannot attend the school to ask the doctors distributing the vaccine any questions. We now know that many questions are not being answered on the HSE’s glossy promotion leaflet. Furthermore why is it being promoted in special needs schools to children with various syndromes/neurological conditions, either diagnosed or otherwise? They are by nature much more vulnerable to the adverse side effects of vaccines than the general population.

We have no doubt that our daughter’s health was severely damaged by this vaccine. Parents should be properly informed by the HSE of the potential side effects regardless of how rare they are perceived to be and this is not the case. Many parents believe this vaccine is going to protect their daughters from cervical cancer for the rest of their lives…they are shocked when they realise it may only protect them for 5 years of their lives! For our beautiful daughter, regrettably Gardasil has robbed almost 5 years of her life!

If your child has suffered health issues that you think may have been triggered by Gardasil, and you wish to get in contact with other parents who have had a similar experience, please contact us at: